The Institute of History As We Know It
by TheOneThatLeftAfterAll
Summary: Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Canada, England, America and Russia find themselves in a not so abandoned old building full of starange people that seem to believe they are nations - or versions of them at least. Abandoned
1. Enter Thee Stranger - Intro, US and UK

This story was written about 3 years ago. I found it on an USB stick recently and thought it would be a shame to just let it rot there. So I polished it up and decided to post it again, even though I will likely never continue it. If you want to though, you can gladly do so by the way, I won't stop you.

The story can also be found on my ao3 account, where I go by InkyMess, just for the record.

* * *

 **Enter, thee stranger**

It stood lonely in the middle of a deep forest somewhere in England, forgotten by everyone and covered in ivy. A large, old building of grey bricks. Pale, nearly invisible words and pictures on the wall suggested that it had once been brightly coloured. On the huge gate leading inside, the nearly invisible image of a map could be seen, showing the Earth as it was thought to look like many centuries ago. Above it, large metal letters read the words "Institute of History as we know it".

If you had asked anyone in the nearby villages and cities if they had heard of it, they would answer no, they knew of no such thing. It was not known how or just when the building came to stand where it does now, nor was it clear why nobody realised it was there.

And yet, there was still, somehow, life inside the old walls. Who were the inhabitants of this strange, forgotten place, living alone, isolated, in the woods? It is save to say, without exaggeration, that they had brilliant minds of a sort, and their chosen Profession, from childhood on, had once been Historian.

Non of them seemed to remember how or when they had arrived at the Institute. To them it seemed like they had always been inside this building. Maybe, once, they had spent their waking hours figuring out and writing down every little detail about the history of this earth. But whatever might have been, it was long gone. The inhabitants were no longer spending their days doing research. Something had happened to their minds and to their memories, and soon their old ways had ceased to be.

Often even disregarding any actual circumstances, they began to act out what they thought should have been, started to create their own stories – after all, they were nations, or maybe ideologies or peoples. And just because a giant Empire couldn't be subdued by a small nation, that didn't mean that the person representing that Empire would be able to win any fight. And what happened to the personification happened to the entire nation, or the movement, or whatever else the attacked represented. Or at least in their minds it did. And so, in their madness, they created new histories, explaining impossibilities and other ex-researchers existance through a meeting of time-lines.

It was just by coincidence that eight people would walk into the usually abandoned forest one day and find themselves in front of this peculiar place. They had been holding a conference, but when it became clear that it would go nowhere, a few of them had decided to take a walk in the nearby woods. Unfortunately the forest was large and soon the group found themselves hopelessly lost. So when they saw a building, they were quick to walk to it's entrance, hoping for help. They were not expecting the very... interesting things that they would soon see.

Because what might just be madness in the Historians was reality to those men. These madmen were acting out what might have been their pasts, their life's stories. Because these persons lost in the forest weren't just common humans. They were personifications, the human form of an entire nation. To be more exact, the nations of Germany, Austria, Italy, England, America, France, Russia and Canada...

* * *

The group of nations had been walking for a while, unknowingly getting closer to the centre of the forest where they found the strange Institute. It was about an hour after they had entered the woods that the group found itself in front of the old building.

Huge and weathered it stood in front of them. Germany, who had been leading the group, walked up to the entrance and looked at the gate sceptically, reading out loud the letters written above it. For a few moments, they were all silent, wondering if they should enter this seemingly abandoned Institute or not.

It didn't take long however, for Italy to speak up. "Germany, let's go inside! Maybe someone there can help us!"

"I don't know Italy. This seems suspicious. It might be dangerous. And there is probably nobody inside anyway. No lights and just look at the state of it. We should leave," Germany answered.

His words caused America to object loudly "What? But dude, its cold here and maybe there is something to eat in there! I am starving!"

"You ate a few hours ago you git. But I am for going in too. Even if nobody is inside, we should rest somewhere, we have been walking for a while. Not to mention it looks like it will start raining soon." stated England.

The other nations nodded in approval. None of them wanted to walk any further anyway and England was right about the weather. There was no way they would walk around in a cold forest while it was raining. Germany sighed.

"Oh well, fine. But don't say I didn't warn you if something bad happens. And be careful and quiet once we enter, just in case."

Having said that, Germany carefully opened the door, which swung open without any problems. They entered, some more hesitant than others, Canada silently closing the door behind them.

They found themselves in a long corridor ending in two staircases, one leading upstairs and another one leading downstairs. There were doors along the wall, labelled with golden letters and on the ceiling were chandeliers, lighting up the whole room. There seemed to be electric light coming from them, though non of them could see a light switch. The wooden ground looked stable, albeit a bit worn, and so did the stairs. The walls were painted white, though they appeared a dirty yellow or grey at many spots. The banister seemed to have been coated in dark brown colour once, but the paint had started to come off.

After they had stood there for a small while, taking everything in, England said "This place seems pretty big. But at least there is light so there might still be people here. Maybe we should split into smaller groups and look around. See if we can find anyone."

The other nations agreed, some more hesitantly then others, and they eventually grouped up. Italy immediately clung to Germany, who just sighed and set off to the second floor with his friend. Austria, after looking around awkwardly for a moment, followed behind, figuring it was his best option on all accounts. France just stayed with Canada, figuring he was the only one who remembered that the Northern American nation was even with them, and the two went up the stairs too, heading for the first floor. America dragged an already slightly annoyed England down to the basement while talking about some horror movie clichés. This left only Russia, who, much to his disappointment, had to stay behind on his own to explore the ground floor.

* * *

Down in the basement, which very strongly resembled the entrance hall, England and America were slowly walking along the hallway, looking at the doors. The golden letters, as they quickly found, were in pretty modern English. Unsure what to expect or where to start looking, they walked slowly, reading the signs in hopes of finding a clue.

"The 100 Year War, Crusades… Theses doors are all labelled with historical events or epochs.", England soon noted. He guessed it made some sense, considering this was supposedly some sort of History Institute – or at least it used to be. Still, it didn't seem like the signs were too helpful to them.

"Huh, yea man! I wonder if there is a door for some of my heroic deeds around here too," stated America, seemingly even more interested in the doors with this thought in mind. And so he began to search for a door with his name or something that had involved his nation on it.

In the end it was England who first stopped in front of a door, intent on finding out what was behind it. Granted, the memories he possessed of these times were always bitter-sweet, but he loved them non the less. So this was an opportunity he didn't want to miss out on.

"Hey America, why don't we try this door," he asked, pointing at the one in front of him.

"I dunno, does it have something to do with me," was the answer he got from the younger nation.

"Well, yes. I would assume so."

"Well than what are you waiting for! Let's go inside and look!"

And with this he swung opened the door, without even so much as looking at the label. England followed him. They hadn't known just what exactly to expect, though considering what this building was supposed to be, they had figured it would be books, maps, old museum pieces, research material and the likes.

What they found inside was another corridor with some more doors. No voices could be heard, everything was completely silent. This time, the doors where not labelled at all.

"So, which door should we take?" asked America, looking around curiously.

"I don't know. Why don't we just take the first one left? We can look into a different room if nothing interesting is in there."

America agreed and so they walked towards the first door on the left side of the corridor and opened it. Slowly they stepped inside the room.

And then they wished they hadn't the second they saw what was inside. Both of them just stared at the scene unfolding before them, not knowing how to react.

The room was designed like a nice, but old fashioned and somewhat small living room. It was warm, smelled of tea and biscuits… a nice small fireplace was lit in a corner. But that wasn't what had startled the two nations. It was the inhabitants of the room that had rendered them speechless.

Behind an expensive looking coffee table sat a man with red-blonde hair, wearing cloths both of the visitors recognized as an old English uniform. The presumably English man drank something that was most likely tea out of a cup, not noticing the newcomers. But the other man did. He was a bit younger, around seventeen maybe and he was currently being used as a chair by the English man. The boys arms shook, signalling that he had been used that way for a while now. His cloths were from about the same time, but not anywhere near as formal or well kept as the Englishmans.

"Hey bastard, we have visitors," he told the man sitting on him, his voice more of a hiss then anything else.

Said "bastard" looked up from his cup to see if that was true. At the same time he kicked the other man in the chest by swinging one of his feet backwards, likely as a punishment for his rudeness. When he saw the two nations he gave them what should have been a smile but more resembled a smirk.

"Oh, welcome to the colonial times… gentleman," he greeted them while he stood up.

The moment he was standing, his "chair" fell on his chest and kept lying on the floor, deciding not to move any more. The nations looked at him. Noticing their glances, the English man said,

"Don't mind the little brat. Now allow me to introduce myself. I am the great British Empire and this... man down there is British America. Now, who are you two?"

Arthur and Alfred looked at each other, confused and worried at the same time, than at the men in front of them.

"I- I am…Arthur Kirkland," Arthur slowly managed to say, "And this here is my friend Alfred F. Jones."

He pointed at his former colony, who weakly lifted a hand and gave a nod.

"It is a… pleasure meeting you," Great Britain said, the tone of his voice letting them know that it really wasn't. He walked over to his young colony and kicked him in the side.

"Stand up and bring our guests tea, you ungrateful little prick!" he ordered.

America looked up, glared and stood up slowly, still exhausted from carrying the taller man before.

"Drop dead bastard," he muttered under his breath as he turned to leave the room, which earned him a punch to the side with Britain's (historically unfitting) gun.

Arthur and Alfred looked at each other again, still not really knowing what to say or to do. Arthur felt like he was being stabbed in the chest, like something inside him cringed and he was having a hard time hiding it while Alfred was having a hard time deciding if he should start a fight with the other England or go after the other him first.

It didn't take too long for Alfred to make up his mind and so he headed to the kitchen where America had vanished not even a minute ago. Two of him would be even better at defeating the other England, not to mention he had to look out for people in need first – he was a hero, after all, and that's what heroes did.

So Alfred had decided that he was going to heroically comfort, protect and save this other America! He was the Hero America after all and no one with his name, or any other for that matter, should ever be the tea-slave of a psycho-version of England!

When he entered the kitchen, America was just filling a kettle with water. Hearing movement behind him he said

"What do you want now, bastard? I am already making your stupid tea!"

"Whoa dude, relax! I am not that creep! I am the Hero Am-Alfred F. Jones and I came to save you from the clutches of Evil-Brit-Man!" Alfred exclaimed, doing his hero-pose. After a moment he added "Are you allright by the way? 'Cause if not, I can totally help you with that too!"

Now the colony turned around and looked at him, uncertain, but he seemingly willing to believe him for now and said,

"I am fine, don't worry. That bastard hardly left a scratch… So, anyway, you really want to help me? Really? Well... to be honest, I already have an escape plan, but I kind of need help from France and Canada. If you could bring them this, that'd really help me out mate."

Alfred nodded eagerly, taking the note. "Of course the Hero can do that! Do you need any more help?"

A small grin showed up on Americas face as he shook his head and went back to making tea for his ruler.

"Nah, that should do the trick, but thanks for the offer. You sure are my hero… Alfred was it? Oh, and Frances' room is right on the opposite of ours, Canada should be there too."

Pleased, Alfred nodded and made his way out of the kitchen. No America will ever be a tea-slave after all, he would make sure of it now!

While the two of them had been talking in the kitchen, Britain and Arthur had had a conversation as well.

Well, at first they had both been quiet. But then Arthur had finally found his voice. At around the same time, the rational and calm side of his being ceased to exist for the moment and his emotions took the upper hand. His fists shaking by his side and on the verge of attacking he spoke up. As aggressively as possible he hissed, loudly, but not loud enough to be heard by the two Americas,

"What the bloody damn hell do you think you are doing, you shitty little bastard! I would never be THAT cruel to him! He's basically my little brother for fucks sake! What the hell is wrong with you, you bloody fucking wanker!"

Britain stared at him carefully, raised an eyebrow and then glared angrily.

"As if I didn't know that you pathetic Brits were too weak to keep them on your own. But I don't care. This is how it was meant to be and I made sure it happened – no need for aid! Let me tell you something, Mr. Kirkland: No one messes with the Great British Empire. No! One! An..."

Britain continued his monologue while Arthur tried to get his mouth to cooperate. But he was too angry, horrified and upset to find his voice and interrupt that bastard. This whole situation was completely absurd! And what was Alfred doing? He wanted to get out of this room and away from this terrible version of him that was giving him a worse heart-ache with every word he spoke.

But he couldn't afford to leave Alfred alone, not with this madman. Alfred might be an annoyance sometimes, or all the time, really, but he was his annoyance. He'd be damned if he left his little brother on his own with someone like this. He had to stay for now, trying his hardest not to punch this bastards lights out.

Thankfully, Alfred finally entered the room again soon, grinning, which caused Britain to stop talking for now. The very next moment, Arthur was already dragging his friend to the door. Unfortunately this caused Alfred to loose the envelope. It fell on the floor and was quickly picked up by Britain, much to Americas horror.

When the two unfortunate visitors had closed the door, they could already hear Britain yell at his colony. He had read a few words of the letter to France and seemed to be all but amused… They could hear the Brit smash America to the floor and then there were the dull noises of Britain beating the younger man up and Britain screaming something about locking him away again.

Alfred and Arthur stared at the door. For a short while they just stood there. None of them knew what to say to do now.

It was Alfred who first found his voice.

"Why did you have to hurry that much dude! Because of you I lost the note and now this poor me is in trouble and has to stay with Psycho-Brit! I am the Hero, I have to save him!" he exclaimed, already turning back towards the door.

Arthur grabbed his jacket collar, stopping him from going back in, and said,

"He will find another way if he is anything like you git. Now let's go, or do you want to see any more colony rooms?"

Arthur just wanted to get as far away from this as he could, as quickly as he could. Alfred seemed disappointed though. He couldn't just leave now! He had to save America! What kind of hero would he be if he left him just like that?

"What! I won't let colony-me be the tea-slave of Creeper-England! I am the Hero after all and the Hero has to save people from becoming tea-slaves! We have to go back and save him and bring him to the France and Canada guys!"

And with that he shrugged off Arthurs grip and slammed the door open again. Inside, America was lying on the ground, seemingly unconscious and Britain was standing above him, about to continue hitting the younger man. When he heard the door open, he stopped with his foot in the air though and turned around with a grin, opening his mouth as he saw them.

Before he could even say a single word, Arthur, who had finally snapped and decided that enough is enough at the sight of the uncontentious, bruised body, had already connected his fist with the mans gut. While Arthur was wrestling the gun from his terrible counterpart and the two engaged in a fistfight, Alfred decided to run over to the other him. Quickly, he picked him up bridal style and carried him out of the room while the evil Brit was still occupied. He would return as soon as he could to help Arti, but as a hero he had to save the defenceless first!

He reached Frances' rooms in hardly any time and managed to open it with his elbow, deciding there was no time to knock.

The room looked much like the other one; the furniture was hardly different. It was the persons inside that really made the difference. The scene was more or less the opposite of what was going on in the British Empire.

France and his colony were having a snack too, but no one was used as a chair. France, a middle aged man with light brown hair and a broad smile, wearing a fitting Uniform too, was sitting on a comfortable looking sofa. Canada was a small girl, not older then seven. Her hair was red-orange and her clothes were the ones of a Frenchman. She held a tray in her arms, which held two cups, one with coffee and one with hot chocolate and a plate of small cakes. Upon Alfreds sudden entrance the two had stopped in their tracks and were now staring at him and America.

France quickly sent Canada away before running over to Alfred and asking him what had happened if America was alive. Alfred quickly answered, causing France to wince. He mumbled something and told Alfred to put America down on the coffee table, assuring him that he would be looked after immediately.

After America had been safely delivered to the table and France had reassured Alfred again that the colony would be save here, Alfred left the room and quickly returned to go and help Arti fight.

Not that Arthur needed much help. Even though he hadn't had a proper fist fight in a while, the man found, much to his approval, that he still had quite a punch at his disposal. He and Britain had been equal for a bit, but eventually, just before Alfred returned, Arthur had started to gain the upper hand. And with a bit of help from his former colony, Arthur quickly left the Empire unconscious on the ground. He himself had ended up with a bunch of bruises and a slightly bloody lip, but was otherwise fine.

The two of them left the colonial times behind with Alfred talking about how awesome and heroic he was and how he hadn't known how bad ass Arthur could fight, though there was an odd strain in his voice and expression as he did so.

Arthur just sighed, slightly satisfied with himself for showing that wanker but also still feeling a sort of heart-ache and another, dull, odd emotion he couldn't quite place from the portrayal. He'd never hurt Alfred like this! Right...?

The two walked away from the door, hoping to find something less… strange and upsetting, and wondering just what exactly this building was for and what this whole claiming to be a nation thing – because they couldn't really be nations, right? - was all about…


	2. Russia's Tsar - Russia

**Russia's Tsar**

While America and England had been dealing with their colonial counterparts, Russia had been wandering around the ground level, inspecting the doors, walls and floor. He had read a few of the labels and quickly came to the same conclusion as the other two had. Now he was searching for a piece of Russian history. He was a patriot after all. He found the French revolution, the American civil war… but seemingly nothing from his place. That was, until he stumbled upon a door with the words '1 7, Russi n R vl ut ns' on it. Without wasting much time to wonder why half the letters were missing, he entered, expecting a museum of sorts.

Inside, however, was some kind of throne room. Well, there was a throne in it at least, and part of the room did look somewhat like a small royal hall. The other part, however, seemed to be a blacksmiths workplace. In fact, there were weapons, from swords to guns lying around in neatly organised piles next to the wall furthest from where the blacksmith sat, behind the throne.

Said blacksmith, a man that appeared to be in his mid thirties, was working on a sword at the moment. In his momentary surprise, Russia didn't even notice the strings that were tied to his arms and legs. The only other person in the strange room was the girl comfortably sitting on the throne, watching the man with a somewhat bored expression. Her face was round and young, she was wearing clothing worthy of a Tsar.

With his usual smile Russia walked further into the strange throne room, unsure of what to make of the situation yet. Moments later he was greeted by a… throwing star… that flew past his ear, only narrowly missing him. It appeared the girl had noticed him, then, considering the star had come from her direction and she was now glaring at him. Still smiling brightly, the nation stopped walking and asked with his usual, to him friendly voice,

"Privet. Who are you and why do you throw things at me? That is not very nice of you. But it is okay, since you did not mean to, right? You will apologise now?"

A small " _kol"_ could be heard while he said this, but he didn't seem to realise. The girl was surprisingly unaffected by the display. She just looked down at him, smiling widely, her mouth ever so slightly opening and her eyes sparkling in a way that would have unsettled most other people.

"But I don't want to apologise… citizen. Why don't you apologise for entering my palace instead, da? We don't want kids who can't play nice after all, and coming over to me uninvited is not nice at all.", she stated in an innocent voice.

Russia smiled back at her, slightly confused about her words. This little human was getting interesting. She reminded him a bit of himself somehow, and she seemed to be Russian. Maybe this presented the perfect opportunity for him to make a new friend? He didn't like her acting as if she was a Tsar – or at least that was what he felt she was doing – but that alone didn't need to mean they couldn't be friends, he decided.

"Nyet, I do not want to apologise to you. And I can enter these halls whenever I wish to, little girl. You tell me who you are now, da?", he said.

For a few seconds the girl just looked at him with her childish smile, thinking. Russia waited in expectant silence until she finally answered,

"I am the Holy Empire of Russia! The best and greatest Empire in the World. Now you see that you should bow before me, citizen, da? You will bow before your nation."

Her voice was high and cheerful like the one of a child playing with its favourite toy even though she appeared in her early twenties. She seemed to be waiting for him to kneel down before her, but Ivan simply stood there, momentarily lost in thought. He was just confused now. How could this girl be the Russian Empire, or any Russia at all, really? He was the only Russia there was, Ivan was sure of that. But then, the girl seemed to be childish. Maybe she was playing? Ivan nodded to himself, figuring that this was likely the case. Well, he wanted to be her friend, so he decided he would try to play along.

"Nyet," he finally said, smile never wavering,"you are wrong again... little Russia. You will bow for me, your Tsar, Ivan VII."

He did not really like the thought of even playing Tsar so much, but this seemed like it might be a good role to choose for this game. And it wasn't like he was actually claiming the throne, right? This was just a fun game to make friends in after all.

"I don't think so. After all, how do I know you aren't a revolutionary, Ivan? We wouldn't want me overtaken now, would we? But you are Russian and you seem interesting, so I might give you a chance to prove your truthfulness to me… Tsar Ivan. You may come here and sit with me while you try to convince me of your claim. I will get us some Vodka and snacks.", Russia replied, voice remaining as innocent as ever. The suspicious look in her eyes, however, betrayed her.

For a second Ivan thought he recognised something bad in the look and hesitated, but then he quickly decided to accept regardless. He wanted to make a friend here, after all. Smiling at what seemed like a great step towards this goal, as well as the prospect of food and Vodka, he sat down on the chair next to her throne.

Smile never fading, Russia picked up a string from the ground next to her throne and pulled it harshly. The very same moment Ivan noticed the smiths hand jerk upwards, his body instinctively following suit, causing him to jerk into a half standing position. Now that he was paying some closer attention to the man, he noticed the strings around his limbs. This man was a giant puppet. Russia chuckled and, in her childlike manner, ordered him to look at them.

"Go to the kitchen and tell the Commie to make us some snacks and vodka. And quickly! Then go back to your work.", she told him after he had turned around.

The man quickly moved out of the room, vanishing into what was most likely a kitchen.

"You like my little friend? He is a very good smith. His weapons get me a lot of money.", Russia said.

Ivan looked at her carefully, smile never fading but most definitely changing in atmosphere now. Slowly, he nodded. Yes, he liked the men, he was a good worker. Good manual workers were something he valued. But why did Russia have to be so mean to him? Good workers must be praised, so more people work well – they shouldn't be treated badly, especially not his own ones. Ivan suddenly thought he might like this Russia a little less now. Still, he would try to befriend her regardless.

"This little friends of mine are the two Revolutions by the way. You see Ivan, I don't want kids who can't play nice and don't want to listen to me. So I crushed them, right after they began to make their moves. And now the Holy Empire of Russia will live forever.", she explained when she noticed that Ivan wasn't going to say give her an answer.

Her voice was getting less friendly with every word she said, Ivan thought. He liked the thought of no revolutions. They always just made lots of people, and him, sad. But he did not like the Empire either, they made his people upset and hurt too. He did not like it when his people were unhappy.

The Revolution-smith entered the room again very soon afterwards, carrying a tray with two large cups of tea with Vodka as well as a plate of original Russian gingerbread. He nervously put it down in front of the throne, bowing as he approached, and went back to his work as fast as he could.

Russia picked up the tray and placed it between their seats. Before Ivan even had the chance to try and take something, she motioned for him to wait while she took a piece of the gingerbread and looked at it with a suspicious expression. She was most likely checking it for poison. When she gave a nod of approval moments later, Ivan took one too and they began to eat. While they were eating, Ivan finally decided to talk.

"What is going on here, Russia?" the nation than asked. Maybe he should have asked that earlier?

He didn't think this game was much fun any more, if it even was a game. He did not like this girl-version of him happily acting like that while using his name.

"Ruling over my subjects, of course. Making sure that the revolutions stay put. Oh, and I sell weapons to the other places and times. Very good business. Now, what are you doing here, possible Tsar Ivan?" she said.

"My comrades and I were lost in the forest outside and we found this place. We paired up to explore it, so we do not have to stay outside in the rain.", Ivan answered, truthfully, deciding he did not want to play this game any longer. He was beginning to think that maybe he should find someone else to befriend…

Russia said nothing for a moment, as if taken aback by something. Then she narrowed her eyes in some sort of realisation and started to smile even creepier than before. She looked at Ivan for a few seconds before asking, slowly,

"Comrades? … You know who has comrades, citizen? Soldiers and rebels. You do not look like a soldier… Are you a rebel, Ivan? I do not like being lied to, it is very mean to do that, da?"

Ivan looked at her for a moment, confused. Then he realised what she was implying and slowly shook his head, his smile faltering ever so slightly.

"I do not like to lie, it is indeed very bad. And it is not very nice to call me a rebel, da?", he said.

Having said that, he was about to stand up and announce that he was leaving when Russia decided he must in fact be a rebel. Before he could react, Ivan found himself with a sword pressed against his neck. He did not like this girl at all any more. She was saying something, but he did not feel like listening to her. This was not very fun, he thought as he slowly took out his pipe. The girl Russia was so caught up in her speech, she noticed his movement too late. A moment later, she found herself with a slightly bloody cut on her head after Ivan had hit her with the pipe.

The sight upset him slightly. Ivan hadn't intended to cause a bleeding cut – he had even tried to hit relatively softly. But then, this girl was very mean, and he couldn't just tolerate mean little girls misusing his name and threatening him too, right? Even if they were his citizen. Still, it left him feeling a dull, odd feeling that wasn't quite pain and he didn't like that feeling at all.

Still frowning, he decided it was best to leave this place. As he opened the door, he could see the February Revolution slowly stand up and walk towards the throne from the corner of his eye. Ivan didn't feel like wondering what would happen once he found his master unconscious…

It was too bad he couldn't manage to make a friend. Again. Oh well, maybe he would have more luck behind another door, after all, there were many of them here. And with such thoughts in mind Ivan walked down the corridor determined to find some nice people he could befriend.

* * *

A/N: I recognise that there are probably other things that would warrant using the word Comrade. But little girl Russia is very, very paranoid.


	3. Danube Trouble - Ita, Ger, Aus

**Danube Trouble**

Germany, Italy and Austria had reached the second floor safely, the blonde nation leading the way carefully, still suspicious of this strange building. They had started to inspect doors just like the others. Not that there was really much else they could have inspected anyway. They had found a few more or less interesting ones, including a British and a Roman Empire label. But none of them seemed worth entering, considering they were likely just rooms full of historical pieces. And it was way too silent near them, according to Germany at least, which made him think of them as suspicious. So he told the other two, who were following him closely, to walk past them.

They were just walking past a door ladled "Holy Roman Empire" when one of the doors in front of them swung open. Immediately the German nation stopped the others from walking any further, positioning himself in-front of them and readying himself for a potential fight. Not a moment later, the three nations found two children around the same age, maybe eleven or twelve, running towards them. What immediately caught the nation's attention now was that the two boys were chained together at one hand. The chains were about a meter long and seemingly made of many small metal-strings.

The nations had little time to think about this though as the boys ran directly into Germany, falling over, while a voice could be heard from inside the opened door, angrily yelling at them to come back. Not knowing what else to do, the German quickly picked them up and after giving first them and then the door a short look decided to carry them towards the it. Unfortunately for him the twins did not want to be carried anywhere. One of them immediately yelled

"Let us go! We don't want to go back there!" At the same time he pounded his fists against the men's back. The other boy nodded and said, his voice a bit quieter "He's right, let us down! Or we will do…something!"

Germany hesitated for a moment, but continued onwards anyway. If the two had a good reason to run away, he could always get them to safety later. Slowly he entered the room behind the door, followed by Italy and Austria who had decided to simply stay close to Germany for now. He usually knew what to do. And if he didn't and something happened he was at least strong enough to defend them. Neither of the two was very good at or liked fighting, and the thought of being left to their own device in such a strange place didn't sit well with them. Yes, following Germany definitely seemed like the best choice of action right now.

The inside of the room looked like a tornado had passed it. There were things lying around on the floor, hanging from the chandeliers and from the doors. The mess consisted mainly of books and clothes. As the nations noticed, the clothes all appeared to be from around the beginning of the twentieth century. But again there was not much time to wonder as the man whose voice they had heard before was now standing in sight, looking extremely annoyed. With a short thank you he tried to take the twins off Germany, who politely refused. He wanted to make sure they would be safe before he handed them over. The man frowned but didn't waste much time on it. Instead, he opened his mouth and said in the voice of a frustrated, stern father,

"Fine… Okay you two... Why? What the hell did you do that for? Did you even think about it before you started creating havoc all around you?"

For a few seconds the two were silent, looking at each other, than at the men in front of them, than at each other again. Finally the louder one of them spoke.

"Nope… But it was fun! And it doesn't matter anyway! By the end of the day it would have been a chaos anyway, so why not just do it now? And it was fun!"

The boy grinned, seemingly amused by the older ones anger. The quieter one nodded and smiled too. This earned them a frustrated sigh and an eye-roll from the man, who was now rubbing his forehead. Germany decided at this point that it was acceptable to put the twins down for now – the man, he assumed their father, didn't seem like he would harm them, just yell which was probably allright. And if he was wrong, he could always pick them up again. Their feet had barely touched the ground when the man grabbed their chains to stop them from escaping again and said with a sigh,

"Ahrg… Just go and help the others clean it up, okay. And don't cause any more havoc, understood?" After the two of them stayed silent for a second he asked again. "Have you understood? Hungary?" The louder boy rolled his eyes and nodded. "Good. Austria?" "Understood, Bos…" answered the other.

The three nations, who had listened to the conversation, looked at the twins in confusion upon hearing what seemed to be their names. Than Ludwig and Feliciano directed their looks at Roderich, who simply shrugged. His expression appeared slightly concerned for some reason. Before they could ask what was going on, the man Austria had called 'Bos' turned towards them again. And while the double-monarchy was walking away to help clean up their mess, he spoke to the visitors.

"Thanks for stopping them again. I am sorry if they caused you any trouble with it. I am Bosnia by the way. And you are?"

For a second none of the nations knew what to say, only a quiet, confused sound from Feliciano could be heard. How on earth were they supposed to react to this, whatever it was? It was Roderich who found his voice first, a century worth of strict lessons on manners taking their toll and overthrowing any confusion or worry induced inability to speak.

"I am Roderich Edelstein, it is a pleasure to meet you. These are my... acquaintances Feliciano Vargas and Ludwig Beilschmidt."

"Well, it's nice to meet you. You seem a bit distraught, why don't you come to my room and have something to drink? I am pretty sure it should be clean again by now."

He motioned for them to follow him. Feliciano and Roderich looked to Ludwig, the former with a begging, soft smile and the letter in badly hidden uncertainty. Ludwig thought for a moment than nodded slowly. It wasn't like they had any other clues to follow and at least they might be able to shed some light onto this whole situation. Who know, all of this probably had some innocent and simple answer… Maybe they were just weird historical re-enactor.

Bosnia led them into one of the rooms on the left side of the corridor. Inside it was what looked like a living room straight out of a picture of the 1910s and it was in fact clean. They all sat down around a table and Bosnia got them glasses with some sweet smelling drink in them. Feliciano immediately tried it and happily informed the others that it was great. Taking a very careful sip from his own glass, Ludwig decided he might as well start asking questions right now.

"What the hell was this all about?", he inquired bluntly.

Bosnia looked at him with a small grin and sighed. "Oh, that was the usual…unfortunately. The twin-monarchs are just…really hyperactive at times…Luckily we are stronger than them. Just imagine they'd still rule us – we'd never be able to clear up that chaos!"

That answer did not really help the trio understand what was going on whatsoever. More the opposite, really, it just seemed to create more questions. And so Ludwig, who, through some unspoken understanding, had become the spokesperson of the group after regaining his voice, continued asking.

"Who exactly is 'we'?"

"That would be Czechoslovakia, or Kia for short, Croatia and me."

"What exactly is going on here? Why does it look like the beginning of the last century? And why the hell do you call yourself nations?"

"Oh, so you don't know? Well, do you want the longer or the shorter explanation?"

"Which one is of more use?"

"I would say the longer."

"Than tell that."

"Allright. Well, firstly, we are calling us nations because that is what we are – anthropomorphic personifications of nations. I know, I know, it might be hard to believe, but just trust me with this, okay. Anyway, we are here in the time of the Austria-Hungarian Empire, or the Federal Empire as they call us for now, in 1912 to be precise. I know, that might sound odd, but what can you do – time anomalies are quite the confusing thing… But regardless, that is how it is. Well, the twins ran the place for a while but really, one can't stay sane for long under the rule of two hyperactive little boys. So we planed a coup. It worked, and we got to rule – hence the changed name. Needed something to call ourselves until we figure out where we're going with all this and such..."

For a while none of the three nations knew what to say again, attempting to make sense of the whole mess. This was definitely not how it had been. Then again, he did mention "Time Anomalies"… but still, there was no way what he had said was actually true. Ludwig looked carefully at Bosnia, trying to find some hint of a joke or lie while already regretting to have taken some of the juice. Roderich simply stared at his glass, seemingly lost in some thought. His usual expression was back on his face, hiding whatever it was that was going on inside the man. Feliciano tilted his head to the side in confusion and looked at Ludwig.

It was him who broke the silence, tugging Ludwigs shirt as he asked,

"Ve~ I don't remember that? Is that true, Ludwig?"

Ludwig looked at him for a moment than shook his head, answering, "Nein Feliciano, of course it isn't."

Bos chuckled at the confusion that was forming on the Italians face. "Your friend is right there. This is you could say…an alternate reality to you. Sort of. As I said, the details can get pretty confusing…"

"We are in another world! Ve~", Feliciano, who was still tightly holding Ludwigs sleeve, said. The taller nation just sighed and shook his head slightly, not really feeling like dealing with this right now.

After Feliciano had drunk his juice, chattering cheerfully along as he did so and Ludwig had ensured Bos that the silent and seemingly somewhat motionless Roderich was probably alright, Bos asked them if they wanted to meet the others. Ludwig was about to say no, but Feliciano begged him to go and meet them. So Ludwig looked for help to Roderich, who, after being shaken somewhat heavily back into reality, mumbled that they might as well meet them. With that the German nation was outvoted two to one and with another sigh he agreed. Bos led them in the room opposite of his first. When they crossed the corridor they noticed that it was much cleaner than before. The young twins had done a good job cleaning up the mess it seemed.

The first room turned out to be Czechoslovakia's. Or at least that was what stood on the door. Under the name was another sign with the words 'Don't even think about entering'. Bos just ignored the very clear message and opened the door after knocking quickly. Inside everything was clean and organised. No wonder Kia did not want anyone to enter; if the mess they had seen before was normal for the twins…

Kia himself was a tall man with dark hair and the same causal clothes as Bos wore. He was sitting on a desk holding in his hands what looked like a lineal in one and a pencil in the other. On the desk was a large piece of paper, on which he carefully drew. Next to him lied a circle, a protractor and other things one would expect to find on the working place of an architect. When the man heard them enter he stopped drawing and turned towards them. With a very small smile he welcomed them and asked for their names. He did not sound as if he really cared though. Nonetheless Bos introduced the three to him.

"These are visitors, Ludwig Beilschmidt, Feliciano Vargas and Roderich Edelstein."

Kia nodded and politely introduced himself.

After the short introduction Kia showed them what he was working on. It was indeed architecture. On the paper was the unfinished drawing of what would later be a church. The stile was baroque. At least Kia seemed somewhat enthusiastic about the project, even more so after both Feliciano, himself enthusiastic, and Roderich, reserved, began asking him questions.

After they had listened to his talk about the church he was designing -as well as the occasional side note on how much the "uncivilised Donaube-Boys" were interfering with his work – for a short while, they left and went to the next room. There were three persons inside. Two of them turned out to be the twins Austria and Hungary. The third one was Croatia, a tall young girl with a winning smile. She was holding a book in her hand, reading aloud to the twins. Hungary looked at her with an interested expression, seemingly captivated by the fantasy tale, while Austria was drawing something on the desk absentmindly. Even if the chains that kept the double-Empire together did not really fit in, the scene sure did look nice.

Before Bos could even introduce them Feliciano had already sat down on the floor next to the children and was listening to the story too. He looked really happy. Bos chuckled at the young man while Ludwig sighed, rubbing his forehead. Croatia stopped for a moment to look at the Italian and continued reading with an amused expression. For a few moments the other man just stood there looking at the actually rather sweet scene in front of him, while Feliciano took one of the crayons and began drawing on the desk with Austria. Finally Ludwig turned towards Roderich.

"Should we just leave him here for a while? We could get him later and..."

"Hmm… oh, yes, guess we could stay here a bit longer…", Austria answered, still seemingly quite lost in thought. After a moment his manners forced him to add, "...If we may?"

Bos grinned. "Of course you can stay here. You can come back and stay at my room for the while. It should be time for dinner soon anyways, you might as well stick around until then. By the way, I will bring you all something when it is finished, right?" The last sentence was said towards Croatia, who nodded.

So the two other men stayed in Bos' room, which apparently was directly connected to the kitchen, Ludwig reading a decent book and keeping a close eye on Roderich, who had laid down on a sofa, eyes closed and humming something. It wasn't hard to notice that his… friend – were they friends? - was acting odd and since he wasn't sure what to do about it this seemed like the best tactic for now.

That was until Bos asked Ludwig to please go to Kia and tell him he should come over because the dinner would be ready in a few minutes. Ludwig nodded and left the room.

Unfortunately, he never reached his destination, because the moment he had closed Bos door behind him something began slamming against the door to the Austro-Hungarian corridor. A muffed voice could be heard and then another punch that made the nation stand still in place, immediately readying himself for an attack again. Something really wanted to get in…

* * *

A/N: Who knoows what goes on in the minds of Italy and Austria. It would have been expanded on later, but then that didn't work out, did it? Oh well.


	4. Stale, Mate? - Canada and France

**Stale, mate?**

On the first floor, France and Canada walked past doors slowly, chatting while they made their way across the corridor. France had quickly began to tell his former colony a story about Englands and his childhood. It seemed a bit exaggerated, but at least, Canada thought thankfully, it wasn't of the explicit kind this time. He wasn't a prude by any length, but his papa could get a bit unsettlingly over board with these kinds of things...

They had looked at a bunch of „museum doors" already but hadn't found anything particularly interesting. No sign of their nations on the boards and no sign of people inhabiting this old they had also not found yet was any sign of a kitchen. Both of them were getting kind of hungry…

Just as France was about to start yet another story, Canada stopped him and said, unsure,

"W-wait. Do you smell that?"

France looked in confusion at the other nation for a moment, but than he started to notice it too. The air smelled like someone was cooking near them and whoever that was; he seemed to know what he did. So there was not only somebody living in this place, they also had a functioning kitchen. Figuring they might as well ask permission to use this kitchen, they decided to follow the smell.

It didn't take them long to find what they were looking for – one of the later doors in the corridors and the only one that seemed to be open. Ignoring the sign on it, France knocked on the half opened door before allowing himself in. Canada followed, looking a bit worried. It didn't seem right to just walk into other peoples rooms, even if their door was open. And who knew what kind of person was in here anyway? He wouldn't want his papa or him hurt or in danger after all…

"D-do you think its okay for us to just enter…?", he asked, voicing some of his concerns.

But the older nation found no time to respond. Nearly immediately after they had set foot into the smaller corridor behind the door, a young man came into sight, a warm, friendly smile on his face.

"Oh how wonderful!" he cheered, "Guests! How can I help you, boys? Are you hungry? Do you want to stay for dinner? It's going to be ready soon and we always have so much anyway!"

The two nations just nodded and smiled politely, a bit taken aback.

"Wonderful! Just go through the door furthest right and wait there, will you? That's the dinner room. Oh, and would you mind telling the boys in the rooms with the numbers 2 and 4 on them to go wait there too while you're at it? They're right on the way, if you don't mind. Thank you!" the cheerful man told them.

He waited for them to give another nod before disappearing behind a door opposite to the still open entrance. Canada and France, deciding to go along with the cheerful offer without worrying too much for now, just walked down the corridor. It didn't take them long to find the doors they were supposed to be looking for. Quickly, they decided to split up and each get one of the boys. France would take the door with the number 2 on it and Canada the one with the 4.

-ooOOoo-

France softly knocked on the door and went inside when nobody answered him. It was a nice looking room, bright and friendly. The owner appeared to be a boy around ten, who was currently attempting to… catch the air? At least that was what it looked like to Francis. He wore light and slightly oversized clothing, as well as a bright smile on his face. For a moment Francis just stood there, admiring the cuteness of the little one, before speaking up.

"Bonjour mon petit, my name is Francis. I was asked by a lovely, cheerful young man to deliver you safely to the dining room.", Francis said, smiling at the child. After a moment he added, "Ah, and may I know what game you are playing there, little one?"

The boy stopped with… whatever it was that he had been doing before to look at the visitor, his smile growing even wider at the sight.

"Hello! It is nice to meet you, Mr. Francis. My name is France but you can call me Frenny if you want. Oh, and I was just trying to catch Lumodets! But they always get away… I bet with Tria's help I could catch them! I will just go and visit him after lunch!", the boy answered, speaking fast and enthusiastically.

Francis gave him a confused look. Had he heard that correctly? He must have, but then that just created more questions than it answered… Maybe this little boy was just playing, and part of his game was to pretend to be him? In that case, he guessed he should feel honoured. It was always such a pleasure meeting someone who adored his beautiful country as much as he did. Though what on earth Lumodets were, Francis still had no idea. Noticing that he had been standing in silence for a few moments, he quickly spoke up again,

"It is nice to meet you too, mon petit France. May you tell me what Lumodets are while we make our way to the dining room?"

The boy grinned even brighter at the prospect of sharing his knowledge and gladly enlightened the men.

"They are about the 3 centimetres tall, fairy-like creatures that shine like a bright little candle-flame. Lumodets love to be near humans and irritate them. They do that by making the human feel like they saw a light but if they look there is nothing there! I love them, but they are super hard to catch!"

Francis nodded kindly at the explanation, though it really didn't help with anything much. He suddenly had the strange feeling of standing next to the little Arthur again – the looks weren't even too far off now that he thought of it… He silently wondered, just for a moment, if he should ask the island nation about this imaginary creatures when they all met up again. They made their way to the dining room slowly, the boy France talking all the while about some Tria and his imaginary fairies.

-ooOOoo-

At the same time at which Francis had entered room number 2, Matthew had walked into room 4. His knock was light, as it tended to be, and when nobody answered he carefully opened the door and let himself in. What he found was a clean, well organised room, filled with bookshelves as well as a neat bed and desk. On the bed sat a boy maybe thirteen years old, who was staring at a chessboard that was lying in front of him. He appeared to be playing against himself, deep in thought. After locating the boy, Matthew politely cleared his throat to get his attention and said,

"I-I am sorry to bother you, but I was asked to bring you to the dining room… Um, name is Matthew, by the way. I am a visitor…"

The boy didn't react at all, as if he hadn't even heard the Canadian. Not that this surprised Matthew, of course. Sighing in defiance, he went up to the boy and carefully, as not to scare the child too much, touched his shoulder. That usually worked when it came to getting people's attention, he had found, though he thought of it as a somewhat desperate manner. Didn't mean he had to restore to it any less often, though. As he had hoped, the touch caused the boy to react. Quickly, he turned around to see who was there. When he saw Mattie, he blinked for a moment, startled, before asking,

"Uhm… I am sorry, but may I know who you are? Why are entering my room with out knocking and why did you just touch me, for that matter?"

The boy's voice showed clear signs of insecurity but the reaction still surprised Matthew – in a quite positive way, that is.

"I-I am sorry, but I did knock…I guess it was just not loud enough… My name is Matthew, Matthew Williams and I was told to bring you to the dining room since lunch is nearly ready. Me and a friend of mine were invited to stay for it by a very cheerful man.", he answered calmly.

The boy seemed satisfied with it for now, though he still eyed the man with a hint of suspicion.

"I see. I might have missed the knocking while Jet was talking. Sorry. Um, I am Canadia, by the way…", he said.

Matthew blinked rapidly for a moment in disbelieve at the last words. Did that boy just claim to be him? But that couldn't be true… could it? No, it was probably some game, he told himself – he might be forgotten a lot, but surely it wasn't quite enough for the Universe to just replace him. He was about to nod in approval of his theory, when another thought suddenly crossed his mind.

"Don't you mean Canada?", he asked.

The boy was silent for a few moments, looking a bit embarrassed at his mistake, before mumbling a "yes, thanks". He seemed rather uncomfortable – more so than somebody just pretending should be at such a mistake, a part of Matthews mind noted – so the man decided it was the smartest thing to just bring him into the dining room without any more conversation.

-ooOOoo-

When Matthew and Canada reached the dining room, Francis and France were already waiting for them. The younger boy was currently talking to the air about his friend Tria and how they would get him here. Canada didn't seem to pay any attention to the other boy and just sat down on the large desk in silence. Matthew decided to sit down next to Francis, who seemed too focused on something else to notice it. He was about to touch him to get his attention when his papa realised he had joined him and turned towards him.

"Ah, bonjour Mathieu," Francis said and than added in a lower voice "Do you have any idea what is going on here? This boy there, the one talking to the air, he said he was France! I think he might be playing a game, but to be honest he is acting very sincere. I fear he might be hallucinating. And he is talking to fairies too – he reminds me a lot of petit Angleterre."

Matthew looked at him for a moment in silence before admitting,

"The boy I brought here claimed to be Canada… Well, actually he said he was Canadia but… He seemed very serious too, do you think th- …"

They had no time to discuss the subject further, as the man they had met before entered the room with a bouncy step and a big smile. In a chirpy voice he said,

"Hey guys! England and Austria are done fighting. Sit down Franny, will you, they'll be here any minute now."

France looked up from his imaginary fairies and sat down next to Canada. The man smiled and sat down opposite of the two boys.

When everyone had sat down, Francis decided to speak up.

"I have to thank you for letting us join dinner, mon cher. It is very kind of you. Ah, and that despite the fact that we did not even properly introduce ourselves. How impolite, allow me to make good for it now. My name is Francis and this is my… little brother, Matthew. It is a pleasure to meet you."

His words were followed by a suggestive wink in the mans' direction. The cheerful man ignored the look – or maybe he simply didn't notice it – and said,

"It's great to meet you! I am Germany and it's always nice to have guests, we get them so rarely recently."

This statement caused the two visitors to get even more confused. After they exchanged a quick look, Francis asked what was going on. The answer he got was not really helping to clear things up though.

"Huh, of course I can! So, we are currently fighting World War One, but I kind of already gave up, so I am just looking after the boys. The kids don't even know how to fight; I mean they are kids after all – and even if they did know it, we would never let them in danger like that! So it is actually just England against Austria. Um, but as it turned out they are both really bad at actual fighting too. But somebody has to fight, so they just kind of… changed the battlefield, so to speak and now they are having cook-offs. The problem is just that they are both so good, it's impossible to decide who won so it always ends in a stalemate! Not that it matters of course; after all, we all get to eat delicious stuff all the time so no one cares who wins the war since nobody is really fighting any more anyway!"

Before they could ask for a better, less ridiculous and insane, explanation, a woman and a man in aprons entered the room.

The two persons, presumingly Austria and England, were both carrying really delicious looking food. They placed the dishes on the table and sat down themselves, the man next to Canada and France, the woman next to Francis and Matthew. After this everyone just unceremoniously started to take something.

When everyone had food on their plates and started eating, the woman looked at the two visitors with a friendly expression and said,

"It is really nice to have guests again. I am England by the way."

"Ah, yes, I am Austria. It is nice to meet you," added the man politely.

So Francis introduced the two of them again. Both man were beyond confusion now. They had absolutely no idea what was going on. This just didn't seem like a game any more, at least not one voluntarily played. Maybe they had unwittingly run into abandoned mental patients of sorts? Or maybe… Matthew and Francis both shook their heads at each other at the idea. Looking at each other they decided to just go with it for now and worry later. When the First World War becomes a cooking duel, one should probably just give up.

So France started to flirt with this girl-England and Matthew silently listened to the conversations going on, using his usual near-invisibility to his advantage. It wasn't often that he found something positive in his situation, but sometimes it could be kind of entertaining to abuse. The small France had started talking to Germany, he noted.

"Tria said I can't come to him, can he come down here instead?", the boy asked.

"Of course he can, but say, when did you talk to him?"

"Oh, we send the fairies to each other. They're super quick!"

Mattie chuckled a bit at this, Francis had been right, the boy really did have some similarities with Arthur. Deciding to listen in to another conversation, he focused on Austria and Canada, who were chatting somewhat quietly.

"…going Canadia?", asked the man

"We will finish the game after dinner. I am winning.", answered the boy, seemingly not noticing the mistake in his name again.

"That's good to hear", was the retort from Austria.

A very polite conversation. Matthew wasn't sure if he should be happy that this little version of him was winning in chess or be upset that he seemed to have forgotten his own name again. He decided to be happy and continued eating, enjoying his nearly spectator like view of the lunch and the sometimes entertaining little conversations of the others. Not the one between England and Francis though, he didn't know how far the other man would go, but he had no wish to find out.

The lunch passed rather fast. It seemed that Francis had successfully flirted with England, because he promised her to come back in the evening with that special kind of wink. After that they had quickly helped declare yet another "fight" to be a stalemate, and then left the World War to explore another door and maybe find out what was going on. And while they searched for something interesting to look at, Francis started to tell his former colony exactly what he had said to girl-England and what he was planning to do in the evening, while Matthews head became redder and redder.

* * *

A/N: Yes, France going back there would have probably been part of the story one way or another.

Also, "Jet" references the SovJET Union, which would have been one of Russias next stays probably.


	5. The broken Axis - Germany

**The Broken Axis**

Something really wanted to get in…

…Ludwig had reacted immediately, readying himself for a fight with whatever it was that so violently tried to enter. Really wishing he had his gun with him, he looked for a makeshift weapon, but to no avail. When he had decided to resign to his fate and prepare for a fist fight, a door inside the corridor opened. Out came a man with an English military uniform and a pirate-hat, who held a scimitar in one of his hands. Following him was another man, wearing a French uniform, who was holding a sword. The two of them headed to the door and braced themselves against it. That was when the English one noticed Ludwig, who was already on his way to help them.

"France! 'Er's a civilian! Get'im off battle-zone, I'll try to keep 'im at bay!" France nodded and ran towards Ludwig. He grabbed the German by the sleeve and tried to drag him into the room the two fighters had come out of. Ludwig attempted to tell him that he could help them fight whatever it was, but France wouldn't have any of it. When Ludwig still argued against him as they reached the fighters home-door, France quickly mumbled something about just making sure they people inside that room were safe if he wanted to help that badly. Frowning in defeat, Ludwig just nodded. France left the man inside and shut the door behind him as he ran off again.

Inside, Ludwig didn't waste much time wondering what was going on now. That Frenchman had said something about people being in here. Quickly he went and looked for them to make sure they were and stayed alright, but also to keep his mind from worrying about Feliciano and Roderich. Maybe the people here could tell him what was going on – and maybe they could give him a weapon. Then he could go and face whatever was out there that apparently couldn't be safely defeated without one and make sure his two allies were safe.

It didn't take him long to find the people France had spoken about – or at least some people. The first door he had opened lead into what looked a bit like a child's room, which was most likely correct considering the age the current inhabitants appeared to be. One of them was reading a colourful book and didn't seem to notice him at all. Another one, the smallest, was seemingly talking to the air. The last one, who looked the oldest, was playing a video-game. After she noticed the man that had just entered their room said oldest child, who looked about fifteen, stopped her game and jumped up.

"Hey! Who are you? Want to play video-games with me?" she asked, a cheerful grin on her face.

"I am Ludwig. I was told to make sure everyone here remained safe. Who are you? And what is going on out there?", Ludwig said, tryting to sound as friendly as he could. Somehow he felt like the attempt was failing, but if that was the case the girl didn't seem to take notice of it.

"Huh, nice to meet ya! I am the great United Sates of America, but you can call me 'Ammy! These two are my bros and we are totally in the Second World War! We are getting attacked at the moment, but don't worry, that happens a lot! I would totally fight myself but dad doesn't let me…"

Ludwig hadn't been properly listening the moment he had heard "we are in the Second World War", his mind drifting off momentarily. When he noticed that America had stopped talking, he shook his head and forced himself to focus. He nodded at the girl as a sign of understanding, his mind racing. If this was WW2 and he was with America, did that mean these were the Allied forces? Or was this history just as twisted as the one he had just encountered. He didn't have much time to worry about that, or anything else for that matter, though, since America quickly started to speak again,

"Hey bros say hello!"

Ludwig shifted his attention to the two boys, silently wondering what nations this America had by his side. Something told him it probably wouldn't be Mexico and Canadia. Yet, somehow he still managed to be taken aback when he got his answer.

The boy who was reading was the first to reach him, hugging him softly as a greeting before introducing himself in a quiet voice,

"I am Germany, well, the German Republic, but just call me Germany. It's very nice to meet you, Sir." After a second he added "I am going to tell Ana you are here, so she prepares more plates, okay?" Not giving him any time to answer or even react, Germany walked out of the room.

By then, the younger boy had reached him too, looking at him with a curious expression as he introduced himself, his voice a lot more self assured than his brothers,

"It's really nice to meet you, Mr. Ludwig! I am Austria, or the Austrian Republic, but you can call me Tria if you like, most people do that." He paused for a few moments before adding, "Oh, of course, I'm sorry. This is my courier-fairy Lootus!" While saying this he pointed towards the air next to him.

Ludwig just nodded absentmindly. His mind was so preoccupied with the current situation that he didn't even notice that the boy had claimed to own a fairy.

Fortunately he did not have much time to dwell on his thoughts since very shortly after a young woman wearing an apron entered the room, the small Germany holding her hand.

"Lunch is ready. I take it England and Dad are not finished fighting yet?" she asked. America shook her head. "Oh well, than we will just have to start without them. I hope you like vegetable soup, Sir?" The last sentence was directed towards Ludwig.

Ludwig nodded and quietly followed the others out of the room and into a dining area. He might as well ask his questions while eating and these Allies – or at least he assumed they were the Allies – didn't seem to mind sharing their food with him. He would have to thank them for that, he remembered himself.

The table in the dining room was already decked when they entered and somebody had placed soup in most of the bowls for them – only two were empty, presumingly the ones meant for England and France. Without hesitation the children and the woman sat down and started to eat. Ludwig hesitated for a moment then followed suit. The soup was honestly pretty good.

After everyone had settled, Ludwig decided to finally ask the most pressing question on his mind.

"Excuse me Madam, but my friends are out there in the rooms of the Austria-Hungarian Empire. Can you assure that they are save?"

"Huh, oh my! Yes, I can assure that your friends are save and sound, don't worry. The doors are very stable here, the most stable in the entire building in fact, so as long as they aren't on the corridor, they should be just fine. He, not even the Axis can break down these doors and walls, I promise, and the Federal Fellows always make sure their doors stay closed when there's an attack. So don't worry, alright, Mr…?", the woman answered him softly.

Ludwig sighed in relief, his greatest worry having been put to rest for now. His mind might still be full of aching questions, but at least his friends were safe. After sitting in silence for a moment he realised that the woman seemed to have expected him to introduce himself. He scolded himself silently for not noticing and reacting immediately, before saying out loud,

"My name is Ludwig. It is nice to meet you, Madam." After a short moment of thought he added, "The soup is very good. Thank you for allowing me to have lunch with you."

The woman smiled at him, seemingly amused, and said,

"It's nice to meet you too, Ludwig. You can call me Canada though, no need to be so polite. And it's no trouble, really. We get guests so rarely, it's always nice when we do have some here."

Ludwig nodded at this, attempting an awkward smile in response, though he knew he probably failed at even that. Why did smiling have to be so hard? Before he could ask any more questions, Tria spoke up,

"Ana? Can I go down and visit Frenny after we ate?"

"I guess, but you will have to take the emergency exit. Someone should come with you too; just to be sure nothing happens. God knows, Father would kill me if you ended up getting hurt…"

These words from Ana caused America to look up from his soup.

"I could bring him there!", she offered eagerly.

But the woman immediately shook her head at the girl.

"If I let you out while there is danger your father will destroy me, Ammy." At the pout on the younger ones face she sighed and added "Let's talk about that after lunch, alright. Maybe we are lucky and the Axis takes an early long break today that we can use, huh?"

America huffed in annoyance but didn't say anything more. After they had sat in silence for a bit longer, Ludwig figured it would be alright to ask more questions.

"So, what exactly is happening here? And why are you in the middle of a different eras area?", he asked first. It was always good to know the current general situation before asking more intricate questions.

"Well, we are here because the door stability I mentioned before. Our own era just became really unsafe, especially for the little ones, so we found better headquarters for ourselves here. The fellows of this time-line were pretty nice about it too, agreed nearly immediately. The Axis still lives in the old quarter though, must be quite lonely there now. As for what is going on right now, well I guess you already learned we are fighting a world war against the Axis. He's the one Father and Uncle England are fighting right now. Comes by every day and tries to conquer us too, but we won't let him get us, he! They fight for nearly half the day sometimes, usually with some breaks in between though. I am awfully sorry you just walked into an attack like that, by the way.",Ana answered after a moment of thinking.

Ludwig sat in silence for a moment, processing the information. At least he definitely knew he was with the Allies now and they still seemed to be the "good" side. But then, that just opened up more questions. He bit his lip, banning some of his thoughts from his mind, before deciding on his next question.

"You keep mentioning the Axis… Who are they?", he asked.

"The Axis? Oh, used to be some alliance, but now it's only him left. Um, the New Roman Empire I mean. I think he used to be called Italy, but he didn't like that name I guess. He managed to take over nearly all of Europe and a good chunk of Asia by now – he even conquered his former allies when they were beginning to show a bit of a split. We here are the only ones still really opposing him – at least in nation form, there are others but they don't have people like us here. Whatever. Don't worry about it, 'cause we'll never back down!", Canada answered, seemingly very enthusiastic about the last statement.

Again, Germany sat in silence, absentmindly eating his soup. Italy… The thought was just absurd, but then again, what wasn't today? "He even eagerly conquered his allies"… that sounded so little like his friend. Honestly it reminded him more of… He shook his head, shoving more and more thoughts back into the farthest back of his mind. He really couldn't use them now. Instead, he quickly decided to speak up again.

"So, I assume these two", he said, gesturing at Tria and Germany,"are the former Axis members you mentioned? If so, how come they are here if they were taken over?"

Germany, who had been sitting in silence the whole meal, looked up at this, seemingly determined to answer Ludwigs question himself.

"When Italy tried to conquer us he thought he would have it super easy. But he was wrong! Me and Tria outran him and we hid in a closet in the Holy Roman Empire until he left. And we stayed there and started our Republics all on our own. We were very brave back then! Papa England found us some days or a week or so later and he was really nice to us and he took us here and he and Uncle France are taking care of us really well, which is way nicer than being all independent you know.", he said, sounding proud and oddly ramblingly.

Austria nodded in agreement with his brothers tale while Canada chuckled and told Germany that yes, the two of them had indeed been very brave. America seemed to approve too, letting out a cheerful "You go, bros" at the story. Ludwig just sat there, trying not to drown in his thoughts. His brain was emotionally overwhelmed again, he realised, nobody up there seemed to know how to proceed as thoughts spun their webs thicker and thicker inside him. Why did emotions have to be so complicated? Thankfully, the sound of a door being slammed shut and the entrance of France and England into the room caused a welcomed distraction and forced him at least partially back into reality.

The two were slightly gasping for air and both looked slightly bruised. France arm was bleeding slightly, Ludwig noticed. America immediately grinned brightly at the sight of her father and yelled a "Hello Dad! Hey Uncle France!" at the two newcomers. England returned the smile and patted the girl on the head while he and France sat down next to each other on the table. Canada looked at them with a slightly more worried expression, asking if they were alright while she stood up to heat up their soup for them. The two assured her that they were fine, just a bit beaten up but nothing to worry about. Canada still insisted on getting the first aid kit too while she was already up.

"Hey, can I go and visit Frenny after lunch please? I will use the emergency exit and all", Tria asked again, with puppy eyes and a smile, while Ana was gone.

"Oh well, I guess you can, but not alone… Someone has to come with you, to make sure you don't get hurt. You know I couldn't bear the thought of my little ones being in danger. And the Axis is in an extra bad mood today, so it is even more dangerous to be out."

"This means that neither I nor you can go with him though, France." England chimed in,"He went for a break suspiciously early today so I don't want to risk leaving. Who knows what could happen. Well, I guess we could send Ana, but then, I don't want to leave the younges alone here."

America immediately repeated her offer to take him, but was shut down by her worried father who told her she was still too young to do such dangerous things. That earned him a pout from his daughter.

After a moment of silence Ludwig carefully spoke up, taking the welcome opportunity to leave this era or area or whatever it was behind him before his mind shut down completely under the nets of thoughts he had more and more trouble shoving to the back of his head. One of the still efficiently functioning parts of his brain told him that this would mean leaving his friends behind, but it was shut down quickly. After all, the two were safe where they were and didn't seem too eager to leave. And anyway, it wasn't like he would be gone for long.

"I guess I could bring him there, if you don't mind. I am a trained soldier so it would be no problem. Though I might need a weapon if you could spare one."

England considered the offer for a while before nodding in acceptance, thanking him politely. So after they had all finished eating, England brought Ludwig a two handed sword and a belt to carry it on more conveniently, apologising for the lack of guns by noting that they had run out of bullets and had not managed to get any replenishments yet. Ludwig told him it was fine. He knew how to use most kinds of swords.

Before England could give him any more instructions though, a muffled thudding could be heard from outside, indicating the return of the Axis. Immediately, England and France excused themselves, quickly getting back into the fight. Ludwig was about to ask if they should wait when Canada told him to follow her, noting that it would still be fine if they took the emergency exit.

Not three minutes later, Ludwig and Tria were already carefully exiting the headquarters through what appeared to be a hole in the surprisingly thick ceiling. Ludwig had to crawl, but it wasn't too bad. Canada informed him that they should come out in the Confederation of The Reins room, which apparently was very close to the staircase. From there, Tria would tell him where to go. Ludwig just nodded, not bothering to concentrate on the explanation too much for now. With a last good by and good luck wish from Ana, Ludwig and Tria left.

* * *

A/N: Who knows what goes on in Germanys mind... Germany is hard to write for me. Also, this is the last full Chapter I had written, so yea. Hope you enjoyed this. By~


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